The Riddle of the Sands
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| Author | Robert Erskine Childers |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Spy novel |
| Publisher | Smith, Elder & Co |
| Released | 1903 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | NA |
The Riddle of the Sands: A Record of Secret Service is a 1903 novel by Erskine Childers. The book is highly praised and still enjoyed for its accurate portrayal of cruising in a small sailing boat.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
Containing many realistic details based on Childers' own sailing trips along the East Frisia coast, the book is the retelling of a yachting expedition in the early 20th century combined with an adventurous spy story.
[edit] Literary significance & criticism
The book enjoyed immense popularity in the years before World War I and was extremely influential. Winston Churchill later credited it as a major reason that the Admiralty decided to establish naval bases at Invergordon, the Firth of Forth and Scapa Flow. It was also a notable influence on John Buchan.
In 1998, Sam Llewellyn wrote a continuation of the story named "The shadow in the sands".
[edit] Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
It was one of the early invasion novels which predicted war with Germany and called for British preparedness. The plot involves the uncovering of secret German preparations for an invasion of the United Kingdom. It is often called the first modern spy novel, despite there being many contenders to the title, for example, Rudyard Kipling's Kim, that came out two years earlier. Nonetheless it was highly influential within the genre and on public opinion.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The Riddle of the Sands also provided the plot for the film of the same title released in 1979, starring Michael York as Charles Carruthers.
In Germany, the novel was popularized by the TV movie Das Rätsel der Sandbank, produced in 1984 by the public TV and radio station Radio Bremen, starring Burghart Klaußner as Davies and Peter Sattmann as Carruthers.
[edit] External links
- The Riddle of the Sands - online HTML reading copy.
- The Riddle of the Sands, available as a printer-ready PDF from Ria Press.
- The Riddle of the Sands, available at Project Gutenberg.
- The Riddle of the Sands at the Internet Movie Database (1979 version)
- The Riddle of the Sands at the Internet Movie Database (1987 version)
